incubate

American  

[in-kyuh-beyt, ing-] / ˈɪn kyəˌbeɪt, ˈɪŋ- /

verb (used with object)

incubated, incubating

1. to sit upon (eggs) for the purpose of hatching.

2. to hatch (eggs), as by sitting upon them or by artificial heat.

3. to maintain at a favorable temperature and in other conditions promoting development, as cultures of bacteria or prematurely born infants.

4. to develop or produce as if by hatching; give form to.

   His brain was incubating schemes for raising money.

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verb (used without object)

incubated, incubating

1. to sit upon eggs.

2. to undergo incubation.

3. to develop; grow; take form.

   A plan was slowly incubating in her mind.

incubate British  

/ ˈɪnkjʊˌbeɪt /

verb

1. (of birds) to supply (eggs) with heat for their development, esp by sitting on them

2. to cause (eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc) to develop, esp in an incubator or culture medium

3. (intr) (of eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc) to develop in favourable conditions, esp in an incubator

4. (intr) (of disease germs) to remain inactive in an animal or human before causing disease

5. to develop or cause to develop gradually; foment or be fomented

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Other Word Forms

• incubation noun
• incubational adjective
• incubative adjective
• unincubated adjective

Etymology

Origin of incubate

First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin incubātus, past participle of incubāre “to lie or recline on, to sit on (eggs),” equivalent to in- “in” + cub(āre) “to sit, lie down” + -ātus past participle suffix; in- ², -ate ¹. incumbent, concubine

Example Sentences

We’ve watched it incubate in this country since Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

They created PDA in 2022 as a place to incubate their work, not knowing the vast community they would draw in almost instantly.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2025

He stayed back to incubate the egg while Wisdom headed back to sea for a time, researchers said.

From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2024

By contrast, she says the A$13.7bn set aside to process critical minerals and incubate Australia’s nascent green hydrogen industry “isn’t real money”.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2024

The shells of her eggs would be thin and eventually smash when she tried to incubate them.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George